APPLICATIONS ALWAYS OPEN · FIRST COHORT: 2026 ApplyNominate

B = {v₁, v₂, …} THE BASIS (n.) the fewest independent vectors that span the space

Ten minutes.
$30,000.
A network for life.

No strings. Operators, engineers, scientists — anyone. Any age.

Apply Nominate → $1,000

And $3,000, at our discretion, for any cool application that doesn't make the cohort.

[ PROVENANCE ]

We started out scavenging for parts on our own.

Now we're bringing together the community and the funding.

Mark's first electrical setup
Mark's first electrical setup
Spencer's first thermoelectric cloud chamber
Spencer's first thermoelectric cloud chamber
Steven's first neurostimulation machine
Steven's first neurostimulation machine

We ran the Duct Tape Prize, then the Eigenprize.
We met incredible people and didn't want to stop, so here it is — the permanent version.

[ THE OFFER ]

THE MONEY $30,000
One wire. No equity, no reporting. Spend it on anything.
THE NETWORK A community, for life.
Every fellow from every cohort, one community — incredible people like you, working on incredible things.

[ HOW IT WORKS ]

NO STRINGS
We take nothing and expect nothing.
WHY JOIN
The money and the community — come for one or both.
WHO CAN APPLY
Anyone, whether operators, engineers, scientists, or anything else. Applications are always open, and we read every one.
YOUR APPLICATION
It never expires. When there's something new, send an update and we'll read it against your last one.
PRIVATE
Being announced or listed is optional. Quiet is fine.

[ THE FELLOWS ]

Twenty Basis Fellows. The 2026 cohort.

Fellows are named on a rolling basis. Every cohort joins one community. Being listed is optional — some fellows will never appear here.

2026FOUNDING COHORT
v₁Ayush Noori Ayush NooriAyush Noori
AI for neuroscience and medicine. Rhodes Scholar; DPhil at Oxford.
v₂Aidan Smith Aidan SmithAidan Smith
Co-founder of Flapping Airplanes. Before that, machine learning at Neuralink.
v₃Lucas Pabarcius Lucas PabarciusLucas Pabarcius
Co-founder of Atum Works — 3D-printed chips at 100 nanometers. Caltech physics before that.
v₄—
v₅—
v₆—
v₇—
v₈—
v₉—
v₁₀—
v₁₁—
v₁₂—
v₁₃—
v₁₄—
v₁₅—
v₁₆—
v₁₇—
v₁₈—
v₁₉—
v₂₀—

[ ADVISORS ]

They've been where the cohort is going.

Xuanhe ZhaoMIT Xuanhe ZhaoXuanhe Zhao
MIT professor of mechanical engineering. Makes hydrogels tougher than cartilage and tape that seals wet organs in seconds.
David CahnSequoia David CahnDavid Cahn
Ran venture at Coatue. Joined Sequoia as a partner at 27 and wrote "AI's $600B Question."
Paul DiTuro Paul DiTuroPaul DiTuro
US special forces and particle physicist. Searched for the Higgs at Fermilab; founded the BrainStorm Institute at the University of South Carolina.
…More coming

Interested in advising? Contact us

[ REMARK ]

There are no intractable problems.

We bring together amazing people to do amazing things.

[ APPLY ]

Ten minutes.

Submit your portfolio and any other useful information, and answer the questions as honestly as you can.

Apply Nominate → $1,000

If we choose someone you nominated, the $1,000 is yours.

And $3,000, at our discretion, for a great submission that isn't chosen.